Outdoor thermal performance investigations towards sustainable tropical environment
Most of the developing countries lay close to the equatorial line of tropical climates with their cities experiencing rapid urbanizations, population growths and physical changes. These accelerates the changes in their urban landscape, which results among others the urban heat island phenomenon (...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/41188/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41188/1/aniza_ESUS14.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/41188/4/WIT_itinerary_for_IREP2014.pdf |
| Summary: | Most of the developing countries lay close to the equatorial line of tropical climates
with their cities experiencing rapid urbanizations, population growths and physical
changes. These accelerates the changes in their urban landscape, which results
among others the urban heat island phenomenon (UHI). The global temperature
increment also increases the cooling load, thus more energy is consumed. Attention
is given on building design and its technological advancement in energy saving
and conservation, not much research are being conducted on the Malaysia’s
microclimate and outdoor thermal environment, although they affect the energy
consumption of buildings. This paper discusses the approaches adopted in
investigating the hot-humid outdoor environment of Malaysia towards
understanding how the landscape design is affecting the microclimate. Several past
research from ground surfaces effect on the adjacent thermal environment, the
impact of landscape setting on the microclimate, to the influence of the physical
dimensions of trees in screening the solar radiation are presented. These parameters
seem to have direct influence on the outdoor thermal performance. The findings
suggested that the landscape settings influence the microclimate of outdoor spaces
where high quantity of trees and big tree size seem to lower the ambient
temperature. Turfed surfaces seem to lower down the ambient temperature
compared to tar-mac surfaces. Several recommendations through design initiatives
to mitigate the UHI effects in urban areas are made. |
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